Let's approach choice in the case of the woman caught in adultery not from What Would You Do, but from What Did Jesus Do. The gospel of John tells us that Jesus said, "Let the man among you who has no sin to be the first to cast a stone at her". The crowd drifted away. When Jesus spoke to the woman he did not condemn her, nor did he leave the choice of her conduct to her. He told her, "You may go. But from now on, avoid this sin".
Is this serious? "Mary supported the woman's right to make her own decisions"? It is not known if any women, let alone Mary, were in the crowd. We are told only that Jesus addressed men.
The man Jesus was apolitical, even rebuking the Apostles when they jockeyed for position and denying having a kingdom in this world. What of Jesus as God? Orthodox Christian teaching is that God is one; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God. Jesus, the Son, could not be pro-choice unless God the Father is pro-choice. God the Father commanded mankind, "Be fruitful and multiply". Is God pro-choice? Did God condone the killing of infants as a parent's choice? Books of the Old Testament tell us God punished Judah and Israel by exile from his land for sacrificing children in the worship of Moloch. It was infanticide, murder, a choice. Is God pro-choice? Abortion differs from infanticide offerings to Molech. The child is sacrificed in the womb. God allows mankind choices, but some choices are forbidden.
William Dincher
Lawrenceville
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom
